Child Maintenance Solicitors in Reading

Making sure your children are properly provided for is usually the top priority when a relationship ends. Our child maintenance solicitors in Reading, and child support lawyers more broadly, help parents agree fair, workable arrangements, or step in when an agreement breaks down, with as little conflict as possible.

Call us on 0118 951 6200 or get in touch via our online enquiry form. Your first conversation is confidential and there is no obligation.

What is child maintenance?

Child maintenance is regular financial support paid by the parent a child does not mainly live with towards that child’s everyday living costs, such as food, clothing and housing. It can be arranged privately between parents, calculated and collected by the Child Maintenance Service, or, in limited circumstances, ordered by the court.

Child maintenance is separate from any wider financial settlement on divorce, and separate from arrangements for where a child lives or how time is shared. It can be agreed at any point — whether or not the parents were married, and whether or not any other legal proceedings are taking place. It is also entirely independent of contact: a parent’s right to spend time with their child is never conditional on maintenance being paid, and maintenance is never conditional on contact taking place, even though in practice the two are sometimes wrongly linked by parents in the heat of a dispute.

How is child maintenance calculated?

Where the Child Maintenance Service is used, the calculation is based on the paying parent’s gross weekly income — income before tax but after pension contributions — obtained directly from HMRC records. A percentage is then applied depending on how many children are covered, with the rate reducing for time the children spend overnight with the paying parent and for other children living in the paying parent’s household. You can find the current rates and use the official calculator on GOV.UK’s child maintenance calculator, since the specific percentages are reviewed periodically.

Ways to arrange child maintenance

Many parents agree a family-based arrangement between themselves, which is flexible and can reflect your circumstances more precisely than a formula, provided you can agree and trust it will be honoured. Where that is not possible, either parent can apply to the Child Maintenance Service for a statutory calculation, which it can then collect and enforce if needed. The court’s role is more limited but still important in specific situations.

A family-based arrangement can also flex more easily around real life, covering the cost of school trips, uniform, or a shared activity, in a way a fixed statutory calculation cannot. The trade-off is that it relies on both parents’ goodwill, so it suits amicable separations better than acrimonious ones. Where trust has broken down, moving to a Child Maintenance Service calculation, which is not dependent on ongoing cooperation, is usually the safer route.

When can the court get involved?

The court can make a maintenance order in certain circumstances the Child Maintenance Service does not cover: where the paying parent’s gross income is above the Child Maintenance Service’s ceiling of £3,000 a week, to ‘top up’ the statutory calculation; to cover private school fees; to meet the additional costs of a child’s disability; or where the paying parent lives abroad and is outside the Child Maintenance Service’s jurisdiction. We can advise on whether a court application is available and worthwhile in your circumstances.

When a parent will not pay, or income is unclear

From experience, the most common source of conflict is a paying parent who under-declares income, particularly where they are self-employed or run their own company. The Child Maintenance Service can request a variation where a parent’s lifestyle appears inconsistent with their declared income, and it has enforcement powers including deducting maintenance directly from earnings or bank accounts and, in serious cases of non-payment, applying for the paying parent’s driving licence or passport to be removed. We can help you challenge an assessment that looks wrong, or pursue enforcement where a parent simply will not pay.

How we work with you

Every family’s circumstances are different, and the right approach to child maintenance depends on how you and the other parent communicate, how straightforward your finances are, and what has already been tried. We aim to help you reach an arrangement that is fair to both of you and, most importantly, works for your children. We know these conversations can be difficult, particularly where trust has broken down, so we focus on keeping things practical and as low-conflict as possible.

Our approach focuses on:

1. Understanding your situation – We listen to your circumstances and the other parent’s, and explain the realistic options available to you.
2. Choosing the right route – We advise whether a family-based arrangement, a Child Maintenance Service calculation, or a court application best suits your case.
3. Negotiating or applying – We negotiate an agreement on your behalf, or help you apply to the Child Maintenance Service or the court where that is the better route.
4. Reviewing over time – Circumstances change — income, care arrangements, or a child’s needs — and we help you revisit maintenance when they do.

Child maintenance solicitors in Reading and the Thames Valley

We advise parents on child maintenance across Reading, Berkshire and the wider Thames Valley, including Wokingham, Bracknell, Newbury and Maidenhead, from our office at 1 London Street in central Reading. Appointments are available in person, by telephone and by video, and we aim to keep these conversations as practical and low-conflict as possible, for your sake and your children’s.

Why choose FSP for child maintenance

Our family team is one of the largest in the Reading area, and has been top ranked in independent legal directories such as Chambers and Partners and The Legal 500 for many years. That depth means we can match the right lawyer to your matter and your budget.

• A top-ranked family team in the legal directories, equally at home with high-value, complex work and everyday family matters.
• Every family lawyer is a member of Resolution and follows its constructive, non-confrontational code of practice.

• Lexcel accredited for quality and client care, and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
• Experience from over 20 years at the most senior level down to newly qualified, so you pay for the right level of expertise.

A full-service firm: your Wills, Tax and Trusts team, Residential Conveyancing team and Employment Law team are all under one roof for joined-up advice.

Talk to us about child maintenance

We can help you agree a fair arrangement or resolve a dispute. Call 0118 951 6200, get in touch via our online enquiry form.